Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital
by Amar Bhidé
2004, ISBN 90-805728-9-6
Academics and practitioners readily admit the importance of entrepreneurs for the wealth of nations. However, the relationship between the economic and social environment, entrepreneurship and value creation is not yet well understood. Moreover, at the micro-level, the optimal organization of the entrepreneurial firm and its access to human and financial capital is continuing to be an important public policy issue.
Against this backdrop the Amsterdam Center for Corporate Finance (ACCF) has decided to devote this issue of its discussion series ”Topics in Corporate Finance” to entrepreneurship, covering the economic relevance of entrepreneurship and its organizational, strategic and financial challenges. The preeminent researcher in this case, Professor Amar Bhidé of Columbia University, has provided four excellent articles that each form a chapter in this booklet. The first chapter addresses the relationship between entrepreneurship and economic growth, and thus discusses the economic relevance of entrepreneurship. The second chapter discusses the origin and evolution of successful entrepreneurs and their strategies. The third chapter focuses on the access of entrepreneurs to external finance, in particular venture capital. The final chapter discusses the importance of control of honest mistakes and its effect on the financing of novel projects.
Amar Bhidé offers an intriguing perspective on the key success factors of entrepreneurs. Perhaps most surprisingly, several of the most successful entrepreneurial companies offer “me too” products in rather turbulent and small niche markets, and have entrepreneurs that are rather inexperienced. But many more insights emerge. “Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital”, issue 9 in the discussion series “Topics in Corporate Finance”, is a joyful blend of theory, anecdotes, survey based evidence and historical insights from economic thought. It shows how complex the issues are, partially explaining the lack of specific guidance that comes from economic theory.
We hope that you enjoy reading it, and that this publication may contribute to bridging the gap between theory and practice.